


what was, what is and what will be

by houseofthedragon



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, But also fluff uwu, But in the beginning yes, CEO!Jon x Accountant!Dany, Childhood best friends to strangers to lovers, F/M, Growing Up, Heavy Angst, It hurts...but this has the Disney-est ending ever I promise, Jealousy and other petty feelings, Kinda teenage fuckboy Jon/tomboy Dany who's head over heels for him, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Pining, Smut, teenage angst, teenagers to adults, they're just idiots in love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:47:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23695663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/houseofthedragon/pseuds/houseofthedragon
Summary: Daenerys was once head over heels for her best friend, Jon. But he never seemed to notice her. He would ruffle her hair and call her the love of his life, but mean it platonically,of course, and she'd find him shoving his tongue down some popular girl's throat on his living room couch.But that was high school. And even if he broke her heart numerous times, they were just kids. It doesn't matter now.Now Dany is well past trying to get Jon to notice her.And that is exactly when he starts to.
Relationships: Daenerys Targaryen/Theon Greyjoy(minor), Jon Snow/Daenerys Targaryen, Jon Snow/Val(minor), Jon Snow/Ygritte(past)
Comments: 179
Kudos: 316





	1. Chapter 1

i.

_There was a lot of things eight-year-old Daenerys Targaryen hated._

_Cats. They were disgusting and it had nothing to do with the fact that her neighbour, Olenna, had a black cat that absolutely despised Dany and meowed rudely whenever she walked by their house. Nope. Even if that little monster liked her, Dany would not be swayed. (But he could still try)._

_Pineapple on pizza. “Ew!” she had exclaimed when she'd first tasted that nasty combination. She had fallen asleep with a weird taste in her mouth that night after dinner, and Rhaella made sure to never put pineapple on pizza ever again._

_Injustice._

_Daenerys_ hated _bullies. She hated people who were mean, especially people who were mean for no reason._

_So, when she found a group of silly boys picking on the new kid in class—Jon Something, his name was, she was pretty bad at remembering stuff—she knew she had to get involved._

_Sure, she was little and sometimes still tripped on her shoelaces but she was a dragon! She would defend him!_

_(That’s what her mum said anyway to get her to finish her vegetables – ‘dragons aren’t scared of veggies’, and,_ duh _, of course, they weren’t so she ate them all)._

_“Stop it!” she had shouted._

_The two young boys turned to her, mouth agape. Daenerys made her way to them, puffing out her chest, balling her fists and in her head, she looked pretty menacing and quite scary. Truthfully, she looked like a kitten who’d lost its toy but she would never realise this._

_It was the first time she took a proper look at Jon Something. He was on the ground, that poor little thing, his grey shirt now dirty. He had curly black hair and a few locks fell over his face. He was super pale, so Dany guessed he was either a vampire or from the North where it’s rarely ever sunny._

_“What do you want, Targarine?” One of the two fools scoffed at her._

_Daenerys glared at him. “It’s spelled Targaryen, idiot. Maybe you should spend more time learning how to spell instead of being a bully.”_

_“That was a lame comeback,” the other said, snorting._

_Daenerys scowled at them. “Leave the boy alone.”_

_“Why’re you defending this Northern fool? He’s so pathetic. Isn’t that right, Snowy? Show her your stupid Northern accent,” the first guy said, laughing loudly._

_“Theon,” Dany warned, “Do you want me to tell the class about your little accident tomorrow?”_

_Theon’s eyes snapped to her. “What are you talking about?”_

_“Your mum is friends with mine,” Dany sang, “And they were talking about you. And how you keep having these nightly_ accidents.”

_Theon’s face turned three shades brighter. “I-I have no idea what y-you’re talking about!”_

_“So you won’t mind me yelling it out loud tomorrow for the whole class to hear, hm?”_

_“This is not over,” Theon scoffed, and hurried away with his other dumb friend._

_Daenerys smiled proudly to herself and turned to glance at Jon. “You need a hand?” she asked._

_He nodded shyly and she used both of her hands to help him to his feet. He was about an inch taller than her. She smiled at him—and he offered a shy one back. “Thank you,” he said quietly._

_“It’s alright. They’re dumb.” She shrugged. “I’m Daenerys, by the way.”_

_He took her extended hand for a shake. “Hi, Danyris. I’m Jon.”_

_She grinned. “Just…call me Dany.”_

_Unlike Theon, she didn’t mind it that much when Jon completely butchered her name._

_(And his Northern accent was pretty damned cute)._

ii.

Sam cracks the door open. “She’s here, dude.”

“Really?” Jon doesn’t recognise the high note in which he speaks. Adrenaline has made its way into his veins, making his fight or flight instincts kick in. He doesn’t intend to run away, obviously, but he is so fucking anxious that he feels like he is on the verge of escaping a crime scene.

He straightens the lapels of his suit, chuckles nervously underneath his breath. He feels like a little kid again; all hyped up and fuzzy inside. He’s gotten ready for women before. Beautiful women, models…he’d even dated an actress once. But this is _Dany._ His Dany. His best friend – technically ex-best friend but that’s a story for another day – and she is not just a woman.

And he’s seeing her again after ten fucking years.

A decade.

He spent the past two weeks anticipating this moment. Wondering what she looks like, what changed about her and what didn’t, how they’d greet each other—whether it’d be a formal greeting as it ought to be or she’ll run straight into his arms and he’ll pick her up, twirl her in the air and she’ll laugh and—

Three knocks come at the door.

“Holy fuck,” he mutters under his breath. His heart is pounding so loud he can hear it within the four walls of his office. “Okay, this is fine,” he whispers to himself, all excitedly, and clears his throat, seeping back into the skin of the CEO he is. “Come in.”

The door opens to…a woman who is definitely not Daenerys.

He knows that, of course, because there is no way in the _Seven_ burning _Hells_ that Dany, his cute little Dany, would wear heels. Especially not heels this big. They look like they could pierce through his skin and come out the other side. No, no, no. That’s not Daenerys. Dany was all about black boots and loose t-shirts. This _woman_ is wearing a tight-fitted black dress, ending somewhere above her knees, exposing creamy thighs and long, sexy, toned legs in those monstrous shoes. Her nails are painted red. Her hair…Jon’s breath catches in his throat. He can be mistaken about a lot of things, but that hair is definitely Dany’s. Because her hair was never blonde, not truly, it was golden-silver. It still is – somehow, it’s gotten even brighter now. And those eyes. Ocean blue with a hint of fucking purple, which is impossible but that was Dany for you. All impossible things in one tiny body. But now her hair is no longer shoulder-length and all frizzy and untamed. Her silver curls are long and cascade down her back to her ass.

(He's never looked at Dany's ass before, _or_ boobs for that matter...but if they've always looked like _this_ he wonders how he'd spent the horniest years of his life - AKA when he was a teenager - _not_ noticing them.)

Her eyes have widened too.

“Hi,” he blurts out.

“Hey,” she replies. _Fuck. Definitely her voice._

But it can’t be…he’s used to tomboy Dany. Where the fuck is tomboy Dany?

“Jonny!” she shrieks, the annoying nickname she'd picked up on when they were kids.

And all his dreams come true when she crosses the distance between them in a quick jog, throwing her arms around his neck, jumping into his arms. All thoughts dissolve from Jon’s head for a second as he closes his eyes and hugs her back, tightly, as if to erase all the years they’d spent apart. But he gets distracted by the smell of her hair and the smoothness of her flesh and, _what the fuck,_ how is this Daenerys again?

“Oh gods,” she exclaims, pulling away from him. “Look at you!”

“Look…at…you,” he splutters like a bloody idiot.

Her lips are plump and red.

What the fuck is going on?

She giggles and steps away from him. “Yeah, right?” she whistles. “Not so similar to fifteen-year-old Dany, huh?” She makes a face as if disgusted by the memory.

Jon numbly nods, still befuddled beyond words.

“I’m sorry, that was so unprofessional of me,” she says, clearing her throat. She schools her face back into nonchalance but there is still a playful glint in her eyes when she speaks once more. “Hello, Jon Snow. My name is Daenerys Targaryen and…I am your new accountant.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i knowww y'all want me dead by now. i have no excuse for my absence, other than i grew bored of writing last year and couldn't find myself wanting to do it anymore. call it writer's block or whatever u wish. i'm *trying* to get back into it with this fic, which is already mostly written so ha even if i don't write again at least you'll get this one last story from me. please don't ask me when I'll finish most of my fics bc....I've no clue. if i want to keep writing after this i will get back to them but idk if that's possible. i don't want to write bc i feel like i have to, first its not my job lol, and second it'd just turn out shitty. so i am sorry about all of this. i am really trying to find my love for writing again with this dumb fic idea. it's a short story - 10 chapters max and the chapters are relatively small so there'll be daily updates. 
> 
> on this note i do hope you're all doing fine, especially during this weird, crazy year. can't believe the worst thing that happened in 2019 was game of thrones season 8....take me back to d&d's shitty writing instead of this shit lmao


	2. Chapter 2

i.

_His father forgot about his tenth birthday._

_Jon knew it the moment he awoke. He was excited to go downstairs, to see what his father had made him for breakfast. Robb got a Spiderman cake for his tenth birthday two months prior, and Jon had been dropping hints that he wanted a Batman one. Very subtly._

_“Morning, kiddo.” Ned spoke as he drank his coffee, reading the morning papers while leaning against the counter. “Slept well?”_

_Jon hid a smile. “Yeah.” He tried to play off his excitement._

_“Well, have to get to work early today. Tell Catelyn I couldn’t wait for her.” He made his way over to Jon and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “And say hi to Robb for me. Bye!”_

_Jon was confused and hurt._

_His stepmother, Catelyn, didn’t wish him either. But he was used to that—he never got a wish from her. She knew, though, and that was the cruel part. Catelyn was not a nice woman, but she was not mean either. Jon had to learn to stay out of her way and learn that she would never be his mother, and that was it. In the beginning, Jon had no idea Catelyn disliked him so much. He was just a baby when Ned brought him to stay with him after his real mother had passed away. He was too young to understand that Ned had cheated on his wife with Jon’s mother, so he was too naïve to comprehend his father’s wife’s disdain for him._

_As he grew up, though, it became more and more obvious that Catelyn only cared for her child. And she referred to Jon as Snow, his mother’s name, never Stark._

_Robb was different. Even if they were only half-brothers, he came jogging down the stairs and tackled Jon to the ground. “Happy birthday,” he yelled in his ear, and Jon laughed until his ribs hurt. “You’re old!”_

_Jon wished that was enough…but it wasn’t._

_He went to school with a heavy heart._

ii.

“Perfect,” Jon says. “This all looks perfect,” he repeats, scanning over her CV and other important documents.

Daenerys’ career is impressive, given how young she is. After her studies ended, she worked for two very famous businessmen in Essos. And now she’s back here again…working for him.

Jon chances a glance in her direction. She is on the chair across from him, hands folded on top of her knees, one leg atop the other. Truthfully, he has no clue what he just read about. While it’s interesting to know more about her achievements as her employer, what is even more interesting is looking at _her_. His eyes can’t seem to get enough of the sight. She has changed so much. And it’s fucking up with his head—disarming him, really.

He had grown up with Dany. At some point, he’d even referred to her as his little sister, not because of their non-existent age difference but because she was always tinier than him. Flustered, Jon looks away from her face. It’s hard to think of her as a little sibling now. Especially with those damned heels.

“When I got a call from Sam Tarly, I couldn’t believe it honestly,” she says, interrupting his thoughts.

“Yeah? I was more surprised,” Jon admits. “You were back in town and I had to find out from my assistant,” he says, masking the disappointment in his voice. He is aware that they left on _rocky terms,_ but he’d always thought if she were to come back, she would at least let him know.

Dany’s eyes soften. “Jon, I…got back last week. I would’ve contacted you, I swear.”

He cracks a smile. “I’m just playing, Dany. I know. By the way, how is Rhaella?”

When Jon fired his old accountant and asked Sam to look for a new and better one, he was not expecting to see his oldest, closest friend’s name on the list of suggestions. He promised himself he wouldn’t be biased, though, and there was no need to be. Sam confirmed that Daenerys was the best candidate out of the fifteen interviews he had conducted. Jon also learned from him that Daenerys moved back to King’s Landing due to her mother’s deteriorating health and that she was now planning on settling down here.

“She’s doing good,” Daenerys says. “I always wanted to come back, you know, this was just the additional push.”

“Good, good. Because I want someone serious for this,” he tells her, trying to sound detached and professional.

But her eyes twinkle happily and she smiles like she used to and all he wants to do is ask her to have dinner with him so they can talk, talk and talk until they’ve relearned every single thing about each other all over again. “Jon, I want you to know that I want to work _here_. Not just because of you. And I don’t expect any kind of special treatment because of our…past friendship.”

“You’re not getting any,” he jests, ignoring the weird sensation in his guts at her saying _past_ friendship.

She snorts. “That’s good to know.” Daenerys licks her lips and on a softer note, says, “I’m sorry about Ned.”

Jon nods once. “Thank you.”

A moment of silence passes before she takes in a deep breath. “Well, I better get to work. Don’t want to disappoint my boss on the first day.”

Jon gets up with her, smiling. “Yeah. I’ll have Sam send you all the documents you need.”

“Thanks.” She flashes him a smile.

For a second, Jon almost thinks of hugging her again as goodbye.

But then she extends her arm for a handshake.

_Right._

They _were_ best friends. They _used_ to be able to hug and touch each other whenever and wherever. They were children, adults don't do that. Now she’s a face he used to know and that too, barely, given how different she looks.

And she is working for him.

He shakes her hand firmly, ignoring the softness and familiarity of her touch, the ghosts of their past lingering around.

“It’s going to take some time for me to get used to calling you sir,” she tells him.

Jon shakes his head in amusement. “Take all the time you need.”

Her lips curve upwards. “Cause, you know, I still see little Jon in you sometimes.”

Jon’s eyes flick up to meet hers. She is right. There’s still Dany in her, too. The familiar smile she wears, her adorable round nose, her lively eyes. “It’s great to see you again…miss Targaryen,” he settles on, his voice smooth and not unkind.

“Likewise, _sir_.” She grins at him and closes the door behind her after she leaves.

Jon leans his back against the door and exhales heavily.

iii.

_“Jon. Jooooon. Jonnnny.”_

_“Stop, Dany.”_

_Daenerys pouted. Her best friend was too busy sketching a wolf (he wanted a wolf) to pay attention to her. Dany hated that, because she liked being given attention to. “It’s your biiiirthday.” She danced around him, teasing him about being too old to watch their favourite cartoon now._

_But Jon was not laughing. Not even smiling, actually. She pouted. “What’s wrong?”_

_He sighed. “Nothing.”_

_“Liar,” she accused._

_“Okay. Fine. I’m in a bad mood.”_

_“I can see that,” she muttered, staring at him until he lifted his eyes to meet hers. “Why are you sad?”_

_“Because—because Dad forgot my birthday,” he acknowledged._

_Dany gasped. “Mr Stark forgot your birthday?”_

_“Yes,” he said, voice cracking, “he never forgot Robb’s.”_

_“Jon…”_

_“No, it’s fine. It’s because Robb is his son and not me.” He sounded even more upset now. He tried not to brood like Dany often told him he did, but he could feel he was failing._

_“He’s an idiot,” Daenerys spat fiercely._

_“He’s my father.”_

_“Well, still an idiot.”_

_“Dany…”_

_“I was going to wait until tonight to give you your gift but since you’re so sad, close your eyes!”_

_“I’m not in the mood,” Jon lamented._

_Daenerys scoffed. “Duh! That’s why I’m trying to make you happy. C’mon!”_

_Jon huffed and finally shut his eyes._

_He felt his friend grab his right hand and then something was being tied around his wrist. “You can open them,” Daenerys said._

_Jon looked down at the bracelet. It had all sorts of weird pearls and decorations, no proper shape or design to it, but it brought a smile to his face and the pain around his heart lessened._

_“I took two months to make that,” she said proudly._

_“You’ve been making me a gift for two months?” Jon asked quietly._

_No one had ever thought so much about him. But Dany had. Always._

_“Yeah. Do you like it?”_

_“I love it,” he told her._

_Daenerys’ eyes crinkled when she smiled this big. “Good, because you have to wear it forever and ever and ever.”_

_“That’s a long time.”_

_She nodded. “That’s how long we’ll remain friends.”_

iv.

“You didn’t tell me Daenerys had changed so much!”

Sam looks at him bizarrely. “What the fuck do you mean?”

“She’s…beautiful now,” he says awkwardly. “That sounded wrong. She was never ugly but she was never… _this_ either.”

“Dude, how the fuck was I supposed to know what your best friend used to look like?” Sam shrugs. “She’s gorgeous, I agree. But I don’t see how that’s important.”

“It’s not,” Jon says, even if that little detail has been bugging him the whole day. “She’s just changed a lot, that’s all.”

Sam rolls his eyes as he finishes pouring himself a cup of coffee. “It’s been a decade, Jon. The Dany you knew was just a kid. A teenager at best. You’ve changed too.”

“Not that drastically.”

“You grew a beard.”

“Fuck off, Sam.”

His friend laughs. “Plus you told me how you two fell off. It’s clearly your fault you didn’t keep up with her.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s _my_ fault.”

“But it wasn’t hers.”

Jon sighs. No, she did try to contact him several times after she left King’s Landing for further studies. “No,” he admits.

“If you still want to be her friend, you have to get to know this new Daenerys. The question is—do you?”

“Do I what?”

“Want to be her friend again,” Sam deadpans.

Jon hesitates. He already has friends. He is certain she does, too. They’ve moved on, they are in different places in their lives now. Is he happy to see her again? Certainly. Does that mean they’ll reconnect and click like they once had? Do they still care for each other as they once did? “I’m not sure,” Jon replies earnestly. “It’s been so long.” He does want to, actually, but he’s scared it’ll never be the same between them. He’d hurt her in the past, and she caused him pain too and now they have both moved on. Isn’t it better that way?

“Well,” Sam drawls, “if you no longer cared about this woman, maybe you should take off the bracelet she gave you when you two were ten. Just a piece of advice, really.”


End file.
